“Employment
growth has been well below the national average through the recovery/expansion
period and has weakened relative to the U.S. in recent months. Non-farm
employment grew at just a 0.5% year-over-year rate in August 2015. Through
August 2015, the state has recovered only 71% of jobs lost in the downturn,
among the weakest of the states at less than half the national recovery rate.
Both GDP and personal income declined at a steeper rate in Illinois during the
recession and have been increasing at a slower rate during the expansion.”

According to
Senate Republicans, these aren’t just abstract numbers. These numbers represent people
trying to find work, families struggling to make ends meet, and businesses coming
to the conclusion that Illinois is not a place to grow.